And The Winners Are for the Fela! Tix

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

I'm posting bright and early this Thursday morning to announce the winners of the free tickets to see Fela! on Broadway, next Tuesday night at 8 pm. So without further ado, the winners are:

1. Jackikay
2. Ms. "Unknown" Commenter #2 on Monday's post.
3. Hadiyyah
4. The Golden Papaya
5. Sharontina

Congratulations to you all! I hope you love the show. Now, here's what you have to do to get your two free tickets. Send me an email at myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com with your real name and an email address where your tickets can be sent. You will be able to print out your tickets and take them to the show for entry on Tuesday. But you must send me your emails by end of day today or else I will pass the tickets on to someone else. And people, if you know you can't make it to Tuesday's show, please let me know so I can give those tickets to another reader. Thank you all and congrats again.

Peace!

Fela! on Broadway: Vibrant and Thrilling

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I know you're dying to know. How was Fela! on Broadway? People, it was AMAZING. I laughed. I cried. I danced. I fell in love with the music.

Even if you don't win a free pair of tickets from me, I encourage everyone to go see Fela! on Broadway before it closes on August 4, 2012.

The reviewers haven't lied. The show is vibrant and thrilling. At one point, before the second act even, the entire audience was on their feet, dancing and singing with the actors on stage. If you love world music, a good story, and fabulous dancing, Fela! will satisfy.

But here's why I LOVED the show so much. Fela Kuti has a truly fascinating and important life story. His contribution to music, politics, civil rights and the Black aesthetic is so huge, I can't believe more people, myself included, don't include him in the same conversations with Malcolm X, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. He used his art as protest. But make no mistake, he was an innovative and groundbreaking musician first. Clearly the show on Broadway didn't get into all of the controversy of Fela Kuti's life, after all, it's about entertainment first, but nonetheless, they give you enough information to make you want to know more. To come home and find out for yourself who the man behind the music really was.

The other reason I loved the show was that there were just so many beautiful Black people on the stage.  The African aesthetic was on full display, from the brilliant costumes, to the set design, to the AWESOME hairstyles. Afros, dreds, braids, oh my! It made my heart sing.

So, dear readers, you have until midnight tonight to leave a comment on Monday's post to be entered in the drawing. Five lucky readers will win a pair of tickets for next Tuesday's show.

Good Luck!

Peace!

FELA! Back on Broadway: Free Tickets for Meltingpot Readers!

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Today is your lucky day and mine. First, let's get it straight that Ms. Meltingpot loves a good Broadway show. After all, she named babygirl after her favorite character from the great White Way and though I've never really talked about it here, briefly entertained  the idea of a career as a great stage performer. Musical comedy was going to be my thing. But, alas, Ms. Meltingpot cannot sing worth a lick.

So, instead, I just enjoy as many shows as I can...and pray one of my children will have a voice that can take him all the way to Broadway. I'm kidding. Sort of.  But I'm getting so far away from the point. And the point is, tonight I'm going to see FELA! on Broadway! Yes, I mean the 2010 Tony-award winning show about the Nigerian musical genius and political activist, Fela Kuti. Yes, the one produced by Jay-Z, Will and Jada Pinket-Smith, and Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson from the Roots. Yes, the one that is back on Broadway for only six-weeks. Yours truly is going tonight.

And here's the thing. While I can enjoy most any good song and dance, coupled with an overly dramatic story line, I obviously have a soft spot for a show with a Meltingpot sensibility. Check out the following description of Fela! from Down Beat magazine and tell me this doesn't have Meltingpot written all over it.

" In addition to being visually and musically explosive, “Fela!” elucidates Kuti's politics and run-ins with the law. It contextualizes his convictions in relation to U.S. civil rights activism and illuminates African religion and culture. It also demonstrates how African rhythms, calypso, James Brown, John Coltrane, Chano Pozo and Martin Luther King Jr. all informed both his music and political stance."


I am so excited. And the thrill isn't only mine. I have five pairs of tickets for the 8pm evening show on July 17 to give away to you, my dear readers! If you want to see Fela! on Broadway for free, all you have to do is leave a comment here and tell me why you want to see the show. I will randomly draw five names on Wednesday (July 11) night at midnight. Winners will be posted on Thursday (July 12) morning. So check back on Thursday to see if you won and to collect your tix.


Here's a preview of Fela!



Be inspired.


Peace!

Music Monday: Zap Mama

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Do you know Zap Mama? If you don't, you should get acquainted. Here's one of my favorite songs, called Damn Your Eyes. Enjoy.


For all of you fans, what's your favorite Zap Mama song? I'm listening.

Peace!

RIP Whitney Houston

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

We're posting today to remember Whitney Houston. Believe it or not, this was my birthday weekend, so I gave myself the weekend off, but I just wanted to let the world know, that The Meltingpot was Whitney's greatest fan.

I thank Whitney for being Black, and beautiful and for sharing that Voice with the rest of us. I thank Whitney for providing the soundtrack to my romance and heartache.I grieve for her family and for those close to her who could not help her help herself.

Dear Whitney, I hope your voice is soaring in heaven this morning.



Peace!

Organic Moonshine Roots Music: Introducing Valerie June

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Whenever I discover a new creative crush, I always want to share the love. Well, people, I am in love. I was doing some research on the on-line natural hair movement and stumbled across a website called The Coil Review. Apparently the Coil Review features interviews with women who have something to say about natural hair but also have something extra-ordinary going on in their lives as well. I clicked on an interview with a singer I'd never heard of before named, Valerie June.

Just listening to the interview, without hearing her sing a single note, I knew I'd love her voice. Not one to easily categorize, June says she sings, "organic moonshine roots music." Just the poetry in that self-created label and the southern twang in her husky voice had me hooked. When I searched on line for samples of her music, I was immediately enraptured. Take a listen.



What do you think? Doesn't her voice remind you of pancakes, corn grits and sunflowers on a Sunday morning? I'm just so supremely thrilled I discovered her now, just when I thought the X-factor and American Idol had completely destroyed the idea of originality in music. Has anybody else been a Valerie June fan for awhile and want to tell me something about her that I don't know?

I'm totally listening.

Peace.